Bob Ross wrote:Clark, here's a response from the Meritage folks; my notes from six years ago are consistent with what you remembered. It seems that the brand has been weakened:

Hello Robert,

You are correct. There are no restrictions on cases or price point at this time. The association has talked about having a production cap but nothing has been decided yet. There is no way for the association to control if it is the "best" of the vintage.

The term is meant to identify the wines as Bordeaux blends and to (hopefully) distinguish the wines from "red table wines"- but the members "are essentially on an honor system for that aspect.

The license agreement goes into more detail regarding the commitment of the members. It can be found in the "Join" section of the site: http://www.meritagewine.org

Please feel free to contact us with any additional questions.

Thank you,Nicole Shifletthe Meritage Association

Nicole ShifletExecutive AssistantCosentino Winery

To this response I ask--so what? Especially to the following:

"The term is meant to identify the wines as Bordeaux blends and to (hopefully) distinguish the wines from "red table wines."

Big deal. Without a reason for the wine other than the above, Meritage has about as much meaning as Goats Do Roam--proprietary, in the hope of capitalizing from a "known" entity.

Bob Ross wrote:Clark, here's a response from the Meritage folks; my notes from six years ago are consistent with what you remembered. It seems that the brand has been weakened:

Hello Robert,

You are correct. There are no restrictions on cases or price point at this time. The association has talked about having a production cap but nothing has been decided yet. There is no way for the association to control if it is the "best" of the vintage.

The term is meant to identify the wines as Bordeaux blends and to (hopefully) distinguish the wines from "red table wines"- but the members are essentially on an honor system for that aspect.

The license agreement goes into more detail regarding the commitment of the members. It can be found in the "Join" section of the site: http://www.meritagewine.org

Please feel free to contact us with any additional questions.

Thank you,Nicole Shifletthe Meritage Association

Nicole ShifletExecutive AssistantCosentino Winery

Thanks, Bob. I'm with you, the brand value of Meritage has been diluted by their change in rules. Let's face it, the creation of the term itself was not random, and it tried to impart a message of quality, i.e. merit, not just a message of this is a Bordeaux-style blend. In my mind, it's really just another marketing tag now.

When I see a wine like 2004 Soos Creek Soleil Columbia Valley Red Wine, I am not confused by its contents. Many/most domestic winemakers tell you on the front or back label what grapes go into that wine, in general or specifically by percentage. That is a lot cheaper for a small winemaker like Soos Creek to do than pay $500/year to The Meritage Association.

"The fact that others misuse the name (as Americans, Australians & others have done for Burgundy, Chablis, Port etc) is well known."

Peter, let's focus on "Claret", a fascinating history. I've had great fun reading from original sources using Google's Book search feature over the past 24 hours. As I mentioned, Coppolo's lawyers don't need my help, but it's clear from the books that the Brits used "claret" for good and sufficient reasons.

I'll revert with links to the books themselves in due course. It's clear, though, that American writers were using the word to describe all red wines in the 1850-1900 period. It's also clear that British writers during that period -- there was relatively little Bordeaux drunk for the 150 years before 1850 as shown by British sources -- changed the French name for "vin de Bordeaux" to "Claret". At the same time, they used the French names for Champagne and Burgundy just as the French were doing.

The reason is not hard to find; as one British traveller put it neatly, much "Claret" was perhaps from France but not necessarily of Bordeaux, or even of France itself.

I'll revert with the proofs, as they say.

I do have to thank you for raising this point, Peter; it always puzzled me since I got interested in wine why the French (the porducers and consumers) and the English (consumers) used different names for wines from Bordeaux -- and for no other French wine.

Without a reason for the wine other than the above, Meritage has about as much meaning as Goats Do Roam--proprietary, in the hope of capitalizing from a "known" entity.

There's quite a difference. Meritage alerts the consumer that the wine is a Bordeaux style blend without using the world Bordeaux (or Claret . I think its a great idea.

Now what needed is a word for Rhone type wines

Peter,

You are hung up on the name, I am talking about the wine.

Meritage assures only that the grapes that went into making the wine are the grapes used in Bordeaux. It says nothing about the style of the wine. As I've posted, I have tasted many Meritage that have not reminded me of Bordeaux.

I don't see the point in the name if it guarantees nothing but the blending of certain grapes. I do see its point if it guarantees a measurable level either of quality or at the very least identifies percentages of each grape allowed.

Last edited by Thomas on Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

Peter, let's focus on "Claret", a fascinating history. I've had great fun reading from original sources using Google's Book search feature over the past 24 hours. As I mentioned, Coppolo's lawyers don't need my help, but it's clear from the books that the Brits used "claret" for good and sufficient reasons.

I'll revert with links to the books themselves in due course. It's clear, though, that American writers were using the word to describe all red wines in the 1850-1900 period. It's also clear that British writers during that period -- there was relatively little Bordeaux drunk for the 150 years before 1850 as shown by British sources -- changed the French name for "vin de Bordeaux" to "Claret". At the same time, they used the French names for Champagne and Burgundy just as the French were doing.

The reason is not hard to find; as one British traveller put it neatly, much "Claret" was perhaps from France but not necessarily of Bordeaux, or even of France itself.

I'll revert with the proofs, as they say.

I do have to thank you for raising this point, Peter; it always puzzled me why the French (the porducers and consumers) and the English (consumers) used different names for wines from Boirdeaux -- and for no other French wine.

Regards, Bob

I've done similar reading on this subject. It's clear to me that the British may have referred to Bordeaux red wine as Claret, but the French used the word Clairet or variant Clairette for a separate wine and/or grape.

Since Claret is not a term applied by the producer of the wine, I believe it neither should it be--nor is it--protected. I do not, however, feel this way about place names and producer proprietary names, which should be protected.

Thomas wrote:Meritage assures only that the grapes that went into making the wine are the grapes used in Bordeaux. It says nothing about the style of the wine. As I've posted, I have tasted many Meritage that have not reminded me of Bordeaux.

I don't see the point in the name if it guarantees nothing but the blending of certain grapes. I do see its point if it guarantees a measurable level either of quality or at the very least identifies percentages of each grape allowed.

Would, by any chance, those Meritages that do not taste like Claret be from California?

If so, I'm not surprised if they don't taste the same. That is not the point. If you want Claret, buy Bordeaux.

We have got used to varietal wines, but what about when a wine is a blend of 3, 4 or 5 varieties? How to put over quickly and simply the blend? We use terms like a Rhone blend, and a Bordeaux blend to indicate the cepage. But how much better to use a new word. I like Meritage.

And when I buy a AC Bordeaux do I have any guarantee of style, quality or cepage? Its only recently that Bordeaux Chateaux have publicised their cepages, but few bottles bear that information.

If you see a Meritage on the wine shelf, you know its a Cabernet or Merlot based blend; its not Shiraz, Zin or whatever.

But Peter, that is such a modern definition of the word "Claret". In the 1850 - 1900 period, and perhaps later "claret" sold in England was made of a wide variety of grapes -- vin de Bordeaux, perhaps, but almost certainly Hermitage if there was vin de Bordeaux in the blend, and demonstrably Spanish and Portuguese wines as well.

And there was nothing wrong with that -- an importer or retailer couldn't be prosecuted for misrepresenting those blends as "claret" -- the word was being used in England, just as it was in the States -- as a descriptor of red wine with no guarantee of source. The situation was quite different for wines sold in England as Champagne or Burgundy -- or as vin de Bordeaux for that matter; then the source of the grapes was clearly represented in the name of the wine.

It's quite revealing to read the travelogues of knowledgeable British writers during the 1850-1900 period and to see their surprise that people in Bordeaux didn't know what "claret" was -- that despite Redding in the 1830s and Shaw in 1864 and 1865 describing the situation so clearly.

There was clearly a disconnect between "claret" and "vin de Bordeaux" during that long period of vinous history in England.

To answer your Coppolo question directly: Coppolo started the Diamond series when he merged two vineyards, and used "Claret" in the well established California sense of a red wine, in this case incorporating a classic Bordeaux blend, with the grapes coming from a variety of sources (and I'm sure trading on the positive connotations of the word "Claret" for marketing purposes.) Not much of a wine in my judgment -- it needs some marketing pizzaz.

Are you aware how many grape varieties there are, and the potential blend count possible? Should we have a name for each blend?

Again, a name just to identify the grapes in the blend, and not even the percentages, let alone the quality level, says absolutely nothing to me. Meritage is not proprietary, it is a generality. Just list the blend on the back label, thank you very much.

I don't expect a California wine to taste like a Bordeaux, but you were the one who said that Meritage indicates a wine style, and if it is the blending of Bordeaux grapes, then the implication is that Meritage indicates wine in the style of Bordeaux--I am sure that was the intent behind the ruse in the first place. But it isn't necessasrily so.

Tell you the truth, I am not much of a fan of varietal labeling. I prefer wine standing on its merits as a single, individual product from a certain place and/or producer. But I was reared in the European wine sphere...what does that make people like us? Humanachronisms?

Thomas wrote:If you see a Meritage on the wine shelf, you know its a Cabernet or Merlot based blend; its not Shiraz, Zin or whatever.

Unfortunately, this is not necessarily true. It may not be on the wine itself, but it may be on the shelf...

Red MeritageNote that Shiraz is prominent in the so-called Australian Red Meritage wines. In other wines listed as Red Meritage, one might find Syrah (yes, I know, same grape), Sangiovese, Petite Sirah, or Zinfandel.

This discussion brings to mind the short but informative history of Joseph Phelep’s Insignia wine written by Paul Lukas, in his book The Great Wines of America. Back in the 70’s the US federal government rules and regulations required that at least 51% of a wine come from a single variety in order for the wine to be labeled as such. (In 1983, the federal requirement was raised to 75%). Joseph Phelep’s vision or goal was to produce the “best wine” he could. So instead of being hampered by rules and regulations, he gave his winemakers the green light and freedom to use whatever percentages they judged would produce the “best wine”. In other words use different grape varieties in different proportions depending on the vintage. The whole idea behind this was, to pay more attention to overall composition than to individual components. (“Old World” thinking- “assemblage”). The term “Insignia” came to Joseph Phelep when he was shaving one morning.

I'm following with great interest, Bob. I don't think any commercial Australian makers (commercial = wines for sale) use the term 'claret' anymore. It was in the list of prohibited names that Australian makers agreed to forsake in order to export to the EU. So, no surprises there. But it did always strike me as odd that claret was on the list, as it was the only one that (to me) seemed more a 'style' term and not a geographic one. I know the historical association with Bordeaux (the general one), but there must have been special dispensation to get it on the list, surely? Pretty well all the other terms protected would have been enshrined in the AC / DOC etc... rules of the winemaking countries concerned, and I'd be fairly confident about predicting that the AOC doesn't say anything about 'claret'...
Equally problematic - perhaps more so - were 'port' and 'sherry' - being English bastardizations of legitimate foreign place names. On the grounds that wine should be protected by virtue of its place of origin, then port and sherry ought not be used. But 'claret' is plainly not a place. It strikes me that it was on the list for marketing reasons, rather than terroir-based ones...
cheers,
Graeme

Thomas wrote:If you see a Meritage on the wine shelf, you know its a Cabernet or Merlot based blend; its not Shiraz, Zin or whatever.

Unfortunately, this is not necessarily true. It may not be on the wine itself, but it may be on the shelf...

Red MeritageNote that Shiraz is prominent in the so-called Australian Red Meritage wines. In other wines listed as Red Meritage, one might find Syrah (yes, I know, same grape), Sangiovese, Petite Sirah, or Zinfandel.

No doubt in 20 years or so, Bob will be using this as evidence that Meritage never meant more than a blend.